Madeleine pressed her fingers to her cheeks as the horror of is all sank in.
“How could he have been so cruel?”
Ash gently pulled her hands from her face.
“Flack would do anything to save the woman he loved, and to stop the man going for the authorities. When they reached the lake and went to sit on the log to talk, Flack perhaps offered Leyman sympathy. A manly arm about the stable master’s shoulder while commiserating on their mutual lack of love. Then with Leyman’s trust gained, he simply pulled the knife he had picked up from the earl’s supper tray from his pocket and stabbed the unfortunate man in the neck.”
Madeleine shuddered at the visions Ash’s words conjured.
“How ghastly! But I am still not sure I understand it all. Why hit me and leave me in the passageway last night?”
Ash had wondered about this too, but there seemed only one explanation.
“They were out of options. If they didn’t do something they were going to end up with nothing after waiting for it for half a lifetime. Flack wanted the strongbox. He told me that he didn’t know how to find it, but that is ridiculous. Of course he knew where it was hidden, but Phillips was always about and would have noticed anything amiss in his master’s bedroom. Mrs. Grenfell drugged Phillips’ tea so he wouldn’t wander where he wasn’t wanted while they carried out their last ditch effort to salvage something for themselves. They could see we were becoming closer. Though we might not have been sleeping together yet, it was fast becoming a possibility. And if you conceived...” He breathed slowly at the thought of what such a scenario entailed, willing his body to remain calm before he carried on. “I believe they would have left you in the unknown passages until you simply died. I was probably going to be next. Though it might have taken more than one bash to break my thick skull.” He smiled.
“But the engagement party, the other staff? Surely someone would suspect.”
Ash shrugged.
“I doubt it. You had been quite vociferous in your refusal of me and in your wish to be independent. Everyone around here knows of your waywardness, your stubborn spirit. With your father dead you could have run away to live your own life. I had already been jilted once and I have my own shipping line. I could have simply taken my sorry broken heart back to London and sailed to China to select silk and spice. No one would have checked.”
Could it be that simple? Possibly. Probably. Madeleine wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand.
“Poor Thomas. I feel so responsible.”
Ash stared at her.
“It was not your fault. You can’t stop someone from loving you, even if you are not theirs to love.”
She lifted her gaze to his.
“I forget that you speak from experience.”
Ash shook his head.
“I did not love Jane Fairbanks.”
Madeleine tilted her head, eyes accusing.
“But you said that you did.” She refuted his claim as a writhing nest of jealousy formed an uncomfortable lump within her chest.
Ash glanced at the cut on her head. It had been cleaned and dried and was not as bad as it had originally appeared, but his heartbeat raced wildly as he thought of what it might have been.
“I was too young and foolish to know what I felt. I know that now. My feelings for Jane were a mere shadow of what I feel for you. Not that I knew what they were exactly... Until tonight.” He stared into her glistening eyes. Was that hope he could see? Her bottom lip trembled, tempting him beyond all reason. Was she feeling something new? Was Finch right? Could he lay his heart on the line once again? What if she backed away, told him that he was not the one for her. Doubts suddenly filled him. A small frown creased her brow as she waited for him to say more, but it seemed that his tongue had dried up.
“Asher? What did you know exactly tonight?” Her tongue moistened her lips as she leaned forwards, eager for his next words.
He tore his tongue from the roof of his mouth, his eyes never leaving hers. God! He wanted her! Like nothing he had ever wanted before! But his courage failed him. He gave a wry smile.
“I knew that I might never see your eyes blazing with anger or hear your foul but interesting language again...” He stopped and laughed, throwing up his hands as she suddenly drew a pillow from behind her shoulders and whacked him over his head.
Madeleine brought the pillow back the other way and walloped him with it again.
“Foolish man! We have barely known each other a few days. I am nearly killed and all you can do is jest about my appalling language and my terrible temper! I thought you were about to declare your undying love for me! Ridiculous, of course!” Somehow she kept her tone light, joking, but she feared that her eyes betrayed her.
Ash caught the pillow and dragged it from her hands as joy expanded in his heart. She hadn’t learned to dissemble. He could almost feel her disappointment that he hadn’t said something more romantic. He leaned over and tucked the pillow back behind her, enjoying the scent of her now clean hair.
“Ridiculous it might be, but I know how I feel.” As much as he wanted to drag her into his arms, her injuries held him back. “But you should rest now. I wasn’t lying when I said that you had been through a horrendous ordeal.”
She stared at him, her mouth opening and closing, the dip between her brows deepening in confusion. Did he just say what she thought? Was her mind playing tricks upon her? Did Asher just declare his undying love? No, he couldn’t have. He had foresworn ever becoming involved again. There was nothing to be done about that, but he might have become fond of her. Frustration and regret filled her. How she longed to take back her own words. The words that she had spoken when they first met. The ones denying that she wanted to be married, to have a husband, the possibility of children.
But what had she known of desire, of love a week ago? Nothing! Not a blasted thing! Last week was a lifetime ago. Before she had met the man whose mere presence filled her stomach with butterflies and whose gentle touch made her heart sing. A hard lesson learned. One she would not soon forget. Never set your intentions in stone when discussing a subject about which you have no experience. She blinked rapidly, forcing back her sorrow before narrowing her eyes as she folded her arms over her chest. She suddenly couldn’t bear to be trapped in her room breathing the scent of what she so desired. So near but so far.
She swept the sheets aside.
“Rest? But I am not tired. In fact I am wide awake. And now I am clean and have been tended to, I feel absolutely fine. We should go down and make our apologies to Mr. Phillips if he is still abroad.” If Asher Derwent could harden his heart, then so could she.
Ash grabbed her arms as she made to rise.
“Not tonight, Madeleine. I am sure he won’t mind waiting until morning for us to prostrate ourselves at his feet and beg his forgiveness.” His hands gentled and his knuckles brushed her fine cotton nightgown. He could feel her warmth through the almost translucent material.
She shivered at his touch. Damn the man! How did he make her feel this way? Why was he so irresistible? She glanced at his face, and noticed beads of perspiration on his brow. Was the room that warm? No, but there was something burning in his eyes. Heat radiated from him. She felt the tension in his hands. She noticed the disarray of his hair, the cravat pulled lose as if he had torn at it with fevered ferocity. The pounding pulse at the base of his throat. What did it all mean? She knew what she hoped. Perhaps it was time to take a chance.
“So what do you suggest we do to stave off the boredom of a sleepless night? Play cards? Read a book? Tell one another ghostly stories? Or perhaps there is something you might like to suggest...” Her nightdress conveniently slipped from her shoulder, but she didn’t attempt to cover herself.
Ash stared at her, at the silkiness of her flesh. His fingertips twitched. His blood roared in his ears as every drop sped south. Her eyes gleamed in the candle light. Was that a challenge? A soft growl rose in his throat as he raised his hand. The pad
of his thumb brushed her cheek.
“Don’t tempt me, Madeleine. You know not the beast you might unleash.”
She leaned into his palm and breathed the scent of his wrist.
“Then I will have to learn to tame him.” She turned her head slightly and bit down gently on his thumb before sucking it into her mouth.
And it was all over for him. He dragged her into his arms and onto his lap. His mouth found hers eager and willing, warm and wet. Nothing could have stopped him as his hands found the neck of her nightgown and ripped it down the middle.
“Asher!” She gasped into his mouth as the cool night air touched her heated skin. Her arms wound tighter around his neck.
Already peaked nipples grazed his palm as he cupped her perfect breasts.
“Mine!” He growled moments before his head descended and caught one of her delights in his mouth. Her cry of wonder spurred him on and he feasted on her, pressing her back into the sheets before he rose and tore off his shirt. His boots thumped on the floor and breeches followed before he slid into her bed.
Chapter Seventeen
A Toast to the Future
Heat surrounded her, so much heat that she needed to throw her blanket from her bed. She opened her eyes when her fingers only found naked flesh. Acres of naked flesh. She peeled her face from Ash’s chest and stared down at his sleeping form. Huge, muscled, hard as stone, but as warm and as soft as velvet.
A noise in the hallway outside startled her. A tea tray chinked and her eyes widened in horror at the thought of anyone discovering them both in the same bed. She turned her head to find a sheet to cover them. There were none on the bed. A knock sounded on the door. She tried to sit up but a steel band wound around her waist and trapped her as Ash’s raised voice suddenly called out loudly from somewhere amongst the pillows.
“If anyone dares open that door, be prepared to lose your head!”
The noises outside instantly stopped. Then began again, but this time fading into the distance along with a giggle and a rush of hurried footsteps.
Madeleine fell back on the pillows, her eyes tightly shut. She could feel Ash staring at her. Her cheeks heated. It was all very well abandoning one’s clothes by candle light, but the harsh light of day brought new nerves and insecurities.
A fingertip touched her lips. She opened one eye, then the other and gazed up into an ocean of blue. He leaned down and kissed her nose, her lips.
“You are well, wife?” His eyes had filled with concern. Their lovemaking had been passionate. He had held nothing back.
She stretched her body, her back arching. His gaze drifted to her proffered breasts.
“I am well husband. More than well. Not even a headache.” She ran a nail down the centre of his chest.
He shivered and groaned and pulled her to him more tightly.
“Good. I was worried that you might have been bored.” He flinched back and laughed as she pulled the pillow from beneath her head and thwacked it over his.
“I suppose it beat playing cards, though a game of whist can be most thrill...” She didn’t finish. Couldn’t. His mouth had covered hers at the same time as his body smothered her.
He eventually let her up for air.
“Whist! You compare me to a game of cards? Why, I should throw you over my knee and spank your beautiful arse!” He kissed her more gently. In truth, he knew that their night had been far from boring for either of them. It had been the most exciting of his life. She wasn’t meek or afraid, a simpering virgin in the dark. No, She had been wild, willing, her body accepting all of him after the initial painful thrust. Her nails had scored his back, her thighs had gripped his waist, her teeth had found the sensitive spot at the base of his neck. Her hands had gone on a trip of discovery that had him moaning, writhing in delight. And her mouth! His heart raced at the thought of the sensations that had wrought!
Madeleine trailed her fingers down the column of his throat and watched as his Adam’s Apple bobbed. She slid her leg over his thigh and caught her foot about the back of his knee. A hand moved over his shoulder, felt its way past the dip in his spine. She rested her palm on a firm buttock. Then lifted it, leaving it poised.
“Only if I may spank yours back.”
A groan of desire rumbled through his chest.
“You are playing with fire. One that you may not be able to easily put out.”
She lifted an eyebrow as she stared into his eyes.
“Who says I want to douse the flames.” Her leg tightened about his knee. Her hand came to rest gently on his backside.
Ash drew in an aching breath.
“My God! I swear you have bewitched me.” He rolled her beneath him and pressed his knees between her thighs, opening her before easing himself inside. She gasped as his heat filled her, her hands clutching at his flesh. He ground his teeth together as he hung onto the last shreds of his self control. As much as she goaded him and how much he wanted to let go, last night had been her first time. He couldn’t bear the thought of hurting her. He had to go slow.
But once again she surprised him. She thrust her hips against him. Once. Again. He didn’t wait for the third time. He flipped them over on the bed and held her above him.
“So, I can see that even when married you still don’t want to relinquish your independence.”
She sank onto him, eliciting another groan of desire from between his lips.
“Marriage is meant to be a partnership.” She lifted herself and closed her eyes as she pressed back down. “A partnership mans giving and taking. Last night you took what is yours. This morning I take what is mine.”
Ash’s heart stuttered in his chest as her pace quickened. His fingers reached into her hair. The thick curls cascaded over her shoulders.
“Yes, take what it yours, deny yourself nothing. I give myself to you. Everything.” His eyes closed as sensation took over. He wasn’t going to last long. He felt the stirrings of the end. His hands gripped her waist and held her as he took control and thrust up into her time and time again.
She leaned forwards, her breasts bouncing against his chest.
“Everything, Asher? Even your love? As I give you mine!” Her body clenched around him, waves rippling over him, drawing everything from him.
“Yes! I give you my love! I love you. Forever!” He shouted as he exploded inside.
Breakfast turned into lunchtime. Lunchtime into tea. They eventually fought their way from the covers an hour before dinner, hunger having finally defeated their will to remain naked in one another’s arms.
Ash picked up his torn shirt from where it lay on the bedroom floor.
“I am not sure that even Mr. Phillips skills are up to repairing this.”
Madeleine picked up the remnants of her nightdress.
“I am not sure Mary’s are up to this.” She walked to her wardrobe and grabbed the nearest dress. An apple green with an overlay of lace.
“I am glad you are bucking convention and not wearing black.” He looped the buttons down her back.
“My father hated black. He liked colour and light.” She turned and looked at her husband’s bare chest. “Are you eating half dressed?”
Ash laughed.
“No, but I thought this a good opportunity to see how Phillips manages dressing a giant before I let him know that his position is now permanent.”
Madeleine raised her hand to her mouth.
“Oh no! We have let the man worry for the whole of the day! His nerves must be shattered. Unless he is already lying in a stupor somewhere.”
Ash suddenly became serious.
“And that is the last piece of news I meant to tell you. Phillips barely drinks.”
Madeleine laughed.
“I am sorry Asher. You have not been here long enough. Even I have seen him taking his empty bottles to...”
Ash held up his hand.
“They were not his.” He couldn’t look her in the eye, but he also couldn’t let her continue thinking his val
et was a lush.
“But if they are not his, who has been drinking...” The truth suddenly hit her. She sank down onto the bed. “My father? Phillips hid my father’s addiction from me.” She asked though she knew his answer already.
Ash nodded gravely.
“Don’t blame him, Madeleine. Phillips had little choice. He was so loyal to your father that he couldn’t bear anyone thinking badly of the man. He thought his subterfuge went unnoticed, but of course, his nightly forays to hide the evidence affected his own behaviour. He was always tired, often jumpy in case anyone discovered him. I don’t think his nerves are nearly as bad as one would think. Without the worry of discovery, they might actually calm down.”
Madeleine took hold of Ash’s arm.
“We have to apologize anyway. We may as well go together. Besides, there is no rush. We might have to make our own dinner seeing as Mrs. Grenfell isn’t here to instruct cook and Flack isn’t about to serve us. And the only thing I know how to make with any chance of success is toast!”
Ash grinned as he placed his hand over hers and they left the room.
“Then toast, it is!”
THE END
I hope you have enjoyed reading An Unexpected Title book one in the
Suspicious Circumstance Series
Book two coming in 2019
In the meantime, please enjoy the first chapters in my best selling Unrivalled Regency mystery series,
Silence of Scandal.
copyright©Jackie Williams 2014
All rights reserved
Prologue
1799
“How is that cart going to move without the horses? The kettle is surely far too small to create enough steam to move this thing.” Alexander Currurgh waved his hand towards the two wheeled barrow that normally carried the apples from the orchard. It was usually pulled by their oldest horse, Thyme. Now it stood resting on its two wheels with a very strange looking contraption at the front end.
An Unexpected Title (Suspicious Circumstance Book 1) Page 25
